Robert Edward Lee. "Decommunization" of General Lee. Why did the United States declare war on its own history?

Looking at the portrait of this modest, kind gentleman, it is difficult to believe that this gentleman is the legendary Robert Edward Lee, the famous general of the American South, who was equally revered in both the South and the North. In our time, Lee has the status of a “god-man” in his homeland, although many modern historians consider him a paradoxical and contradictory figure. Despite the fact that the “cult of Robert E. Lee” has been inflated by post-war American historians and journalists, this in no way detracts from the merits and merits of this remarkable general.

Childhood and adolescence

Robert Edward Lee was born on January 19, 1807 in Stratford, Virginia, the son of Revolutionary War hero Henry "Cavalry Harry" Lee and Ann Hill Carter Lee.

Both mother and father belonged to respectable old Virginia families, but due to circumstances (the father became entangled in unsuccessful financial transactions), Robert, the fourth child in the house, was raised mainly by his mother, who instilled in him the principles of strict discipline, patience and religiosity. The strong and healthy boy spent only the first four years of his life in Stradford, but in many ways it was they who determined the fate of the future general.
Sometimes it happens that one of the children inherits all the best from previous generations; this is exactly what happened to Robert E. Lee. From his mother he inherited his attractive appearance, from his father - physical strength and a sense of duty and responsibility, which George Washington himself noted in Henry Lee during the years of the Revolution. Even his father’s financial problems played a positive role - all his life Robert Lee was extremely scrupulous and careful in everything that had to do with money and business.

Ann Carter Lee endowed her son with an awareness of the importance of the prevalence of family values, and Robert carried his touching love for his mother through the years.

At the age of 12, in the absence of his father and brothers, he became the de facto owner of a large house, carefully caring for his mother and sisters, who were in poor health.

Career

Robert E. Lee's choice of a military career was driven by financial necessity. There was simply no money to study at Harvard, where his older brother Charles Carter studied. There was only one way left - to the West Point Military Academy. As a cadet, for four years Lee did not receive a single punishment, enjoyed the sympathy and respect of his fellow students, and graduated from the academy second in academic performance in his class. The mutual love between the West Point cadets and Lee resurfaced years later when Lee returned to the academy as superintendent.

The best graduates were assigned to the engineering corps, this rule also applied to Robert E. Lee. Among his first steps in the practical military field were the construction of a dam in St. Louis and the strengthening of coastal forts in Brunswick and Savannah.

With the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, Lee married Mary Ann Randolph Custis of Arlington; the wedding took place on June 30, 1831 at Fort Monroe. Mary was the only daughter of Parke Custis, the adopted grandson of George Washington. Robert E. Lee revered Washington's memory and admired his services to the country; Lee's family ties to the father of the American Revolution provided another source of patriotic inspiration.

The young couple moved to Arlington, to the Custis estate on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. (now Arlington Memorial Cemetery is located on the estate).

In 1846, the Mexican-American War broke out, and Robert was sent to Mexico to supervise road construction. However, General Winfield Scott, the commander of the American forces, noticed primarily not Lee's engineering skills, but his cavalry bearing and extraordinary intelligence abilities, and brought him into his staff. It was in Mexico that Robert Lee learned tactics in practice, and these lessons were successfully used by him 16 years later.

The capable officer was entrusted with the task of drawing up and correcting maps, which, however, did not prevent him from one day leading soldiers into hand-to-hand combat. It was in Mexico that Lee met the men who would play such an important role in the coming Civil War - James Longstreet, Thomas Jackson, George Pickett and Ulysses Grant.

Despite his impeccable service and the heroism and courage shown during the war, Lee's career growth was extremely slow. He received assignments to the most remote and wild places, painfully feeling disconnected from home and family. He repeatedly emphasized that the main thing in his life is the love of his wife and children.

In 1855, Lee, with the help of future Confederate President Jefferson Davis, was transferred to the cavalry. The most high-profile military operation he led during this period was the suppression of the rebellion of radical abolitionist John Brown, who in October 1859 made a desperate attempt to seize the government arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The Marines under the command of Colonel Lee quickly broke the resistance of Brown and a handful of terrorists. Lee's aide-de-camp was young Lieutenant Jeb Stewart, who later became the best cavalryman in the South.

Civil War

The American Civil War of 1861-1865 was the bloodiest of the wars fought by America in the 19th century. Over four years, more than 600,000 people died. More than one and a half million were injured. A huge part of the US territory was destroyed, the economy was close to crisis. The war left a huge mark on the American national consciousness. In terms of its psychological impact, it can perhaps be compared with the October Revolution and the Civil War in Russia. In both cases it was an event of extraordinary importance that changed the course of the country’s history. This was an event that decisively drew a line under my former life.

Contrary to popular belief, the war did not break out suddenly. We can say with a certain degree of confidence that it was inevitable. Historically, the United States is divided into three parts: North, South and West. In those days (second third of the 19th century), the West was colonized. The North was an industrially developing region. The South was almost entirely agricultural. The border between North and South ran along the so-called Mason-Dixon Line, dividing the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The west was separated by the Mississippi River. There were almost no states west of the Mississippi. Both North and South had equal representation in Parliament.

Thus, an equal number of supporters and opponents of slavery in Congress was a necessary compromise. As the Americans moved west, new territories were organized and disputes arose about whether they should be slaveholding or not. This was not a trifle, as it might seem at first glance. For the South, whose entire economy was based on plantation slavery, the expansion of territories was vital. The North tried to prevent the spread of slavery for reasons: a) economic - new territories, a new market were needed and b) moral - slavery was considered evil, and false ideas about the life of the South in the North were formed under the influence of fiction, such as "Uncle Tom's Cabin" , stories of escaped slaves and the wildest imagination.

As is usually the case, tensions increased over time. By the beginning of the 1960s, friction between the parties had reached its critical mass. The coming to power of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 was a kind of detonator. Lincoln opposed slavery, however, on moral grounds, but Lincoln was an even more convinced supporter of the Union of the States. He rejected the very idea of ​​secession, that is, separation, withdrawal from the Union; an idea that had been actively discussed in the South since the 50s. Lincoln admitted that he would even be ready to reconcile with slavery, but he could not allow the country to split. Things, however, have gone too far. For the South, the abolition of slavery meant the total destruction of the existing order of things - a thought with which few could reconcile. As a result, the South seceded in 1860 and began military action against the Yankees in April 1861.

And it was in 1861 that Lee’s finest hour came, who gave 32 years of his life to the US Army. Just before the war, President Lincoln, through his secretary Francis Blair, invited Lee to lead all federal (North) ground forces. There were reasons for a positive answer - Lee was a supporter of the union system, did not approve of secession (separation), considered slavery an evil and freed all his slaves. Lee wrote: "Neither north nor south, neither east nor west - only a broad Union in all its power and strength." Blair forced Lee to choose between violently maintaining the unity of the country and loving his family, friends, history and his home state of Virginia.

His heart was breaking, but the right decision was finally made after a sleepless night in Arlington - Lee wrote a letter of resignation. He could not fight with his loved ones. The response to Blair was written: "Despite my opposition to secession and the impending war, I am not in a position to take part in an invasion of the southern states." Lee received his resignation and left his beloved Arlington to “return in sorrow to his people and share the fate of his native state.” He wrote to his son: “It seems to me that the North is insulting the South by its actions. I feel aggression and want to do everything to prevent it. This is a principle that I uphold not for any private or individual gain. As an American citizen, I pray for his country and its prosperity, but is ready to defend any of its states whose rights are under threat."

Lee soon offered his services to the newly elected President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, who promoted him first to brigadier and then to full general. At the first stage of the war. Lee organized regular army units in his native state, and in the summer of 1861 he led Confederate troops in West Virginia.

Hostilities.

After leading the unsuccessful operation at Cheat Mountain (which was due to external factors and primarily problems in the supply of food and ammunition), Robert E. Lee was recalled to the Confederate capital of Richmond, where he accepted the post of chief military adviser to President Davis. While in this position, Lee exerted significant influence on the course of the war, in particular his great contribution to planning Jackson's remarkable "Stonewall" campaign in the Shenandoah Valley.

At the time, command of the Confederate Army of the East was divided between Beauregard, the hero of Fort Sumter, and Joe Johnston, who had jointly defeated the Yankees at the first major battle of Bull Run. Then Johnston became sole commander, who, however, was hampered by numerous wounds. Therefore, when the Federals, led by George McClellan, began to attack Richmond. Davis replaced Johnston with Lee. The troops of the southerners launched a counter-offensive and forced the northerners, superior in numbers and weapons, to retreat during the so-called “Seven Day Campaign”. Thus began the glorious history of the Army of Northern Virginia, led by General Robert Edward Lee, whom southerners began to affectionately call “Uncle Robert.” Joe Johnston knew Lee from West Point and wrote about him: “He (Robert Lee) was full of sympathy and kindness. He loved to talk and laugh. But at the same time, his correct manners, devotion to duty - both personal and public, his natural nobility and elegance gave him an advantage which every one recognized in his heart."

The Army of Northern Virginia advanced toward Washington, utterly defeating John Pope at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Consolidating his success, in September 1862 Lee's troops crossed the Potomac, invaded Maryland and encountered McClellan at South Mountain. By a fatal accident, Lee's operational papers fell into the hands of the enemy, and after the bloody battle of Antietam, the southerners retreated, remaining undefeated. In December of the same year, Lee brilliantly repelled another federal offensive under the command of Burnside, defeating them at Fredericksburg.

General Lee won his greatest victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, when the Union sent a huge army under the command of Joe Hooker against the Southerners. Lee and another Southern military genius, “Stonewall” Jackson, divided their forces, forced a march around Hooker and attacked his unprotected flank, inflicting the most significant defeat of the war on the Northerners.

This victory prompted Lee and Davis to launch what became known as the "Second Invasion of the North." In the North, the peace movement was gaining ground, and Lee hoped to give it the momentum it needed. Given that the North had suffered a series of defeats in recent months, this made sense. And the fertile valleys of Pennsylvania would provide the army with the necessary provisions and free war-torn Virginia, the main theater of military operations, from the burden of supplying troops. The capture of Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, would have added to Lee's success, strengthened the morale of the southern army, and, moreover, would have adversely affected Lincoln's popularity. Strategically, Pennsylvania was a convenient road to Washington.

With these hopes, the Army of Northern Virginia again crossed the Potomac, entered Pennsylvania and approached the hitherto unknown town of Gettysburg. From July 1 to July 3, 1863, the greatest battle in the history of the Western Hemisphere took place here. General Lee was challenged by the federal Army of the Potomac with its new commander, General George Meade.

On the third day, it became clear that the Confederates were being defeated, and even Lee launched a wide frontal attack, known as “Pickett’s Charge” (the attack received this name because it was Pickett’s division that was in the center of the attacking wedge. Losses in the division amounted to 60- 75%, Pickett did not forgive General Lee for this attack), did not change the final result. Lee's army was exhausted from the fighting, and its fighting efficiency declined. Data on losses are usually given as follows: 4420 - killed, 12180 - wounded, 6000 - missing. The federal army, accordingly, suffered: 3,160 killed, 14,530 wounded, and 5,370 missing.

The Southerners were defeated. The Gettysburg Campaign ended. On July 4, in another part of the country, the fortress of Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrendered to General Grant. Defeats in these battles broke the morale of the southerners. The South, as a country with limited natural and human resources, was faced with the need to continue a protracted war. Although Lee's army was not defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg, it still suffered losses from which it could not fully recover. As one Southern officer put it, “At Gettysburg we gained nothing but glory and lost our best men.” The patriotic spirit of the northerners, which had faded, flared up again, and the movement to end the war lost its arguments in support. However, the Army of Northern Virginia fought for two more long years. Lee had a worthy opponent - Ulysses Grant, and it was with him and only with him that the general fought until the end of the war. Grant valued his counterpart, giving him the name “Ace of Spades” as the highest recognition of military valor and talent. Hemmed in by enemies at Petersburg and Richmond, Lee stubbornly resisted for ten months until he retreated to Appomattox. There the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered on April 9, 1865.

From the first of June 1862, upon taking command of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert Edward Lee was both the soul and the de facto leader of all the Confederate armed forces, which he formally led only in January 1865. His talent as a commander became legendary, and his military campaigns are still studied in all the military academies of the world as an example of tactical art. Lee was able to face armies three times the size of his own, poorly armed, naked and hungry. This happened thanks to the southern soldiers and civilians, who felt themselves victims of aggression from the Yankees and stood up to defend their freedom and independence, all that was dear to them. But this is undoubtedly the merit of General Lee, his clear mind and courage.

After the war

After the surrender, Lee returned to Richmond as a forgiven prisoner of war. He dedicated the rest of his life to helping former Confederate soldiers.

He refused many tempting offers and accepted the modest post of president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University). The general's reputation breathed new life into the college; his vast military experience and fame in both the North and South, coupled with the tragic symbolism of the Lost Cause, made Lee a legendary figure during his lifetime.

As for Lee post-war, at least one thing is certain - Lee was against any armed continuation of the conflict and fully accepted military defeat. He tried to restore his US citizenship (former Confederates were disenfranchised) and recommended it to others. Lee called not to stand in opposition and said that he did not intend and did not intend to take part in the post-war actions of the former Confederates, contrary to the law and the new order. But beyond this rhetoric, he believed and declared, both in public and in private, that the responsibility for the war lay with the North, since it opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories; that the southern states and their people should return to their antebellum status immediately and unconditionally; that Confederate leaders should receive legal immunity and that the issue of "Freedmen" (freed blacks) was a matter for the Southern states, not the federal government. As for the blacks, public and private speeches on this issue also came into conflict. In public, Lee preferred not to talk about this and took the most moderate position, emphasizing that as long as the North did not “stir up the blacks,” everything would be fine - the South would hire blacks as full-time workers because it needed them. In private conversations, Lee was not so humble and spoke with bitterness about the Yankee policy towards blacks, believing that they (blacks) should know their place and it would be better to get rid of them. The problem of the coexistence of two parts of the country for Lee after the war did not change much compared to his pre-war thoughts on this topic - the internal affairs of the South are the internal affairs of the South and the North should leave the South alone. In his soul, Lee remained who he was - a native of the Virginia aristocratic environment, who loved his state, deeply experienced the bitterness of defeat in the war and shared the views of the majority of southerners who did not accept change.

He died on October 12, 1870, in Lexington as a result of a heart attack, never having been restored to civil rights, which would not come until the intervention of President Gerald Ford a century later.

Robert Edward Lee Jr.(eng. Robert Edward "Rob" Lee, Jr.; October 27, 1843 - October 19, 1914) - the youngest son of Confederate General Robert Edward Lee Sr., an artillery officer in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, later a businessman and writer.

early years

Robert E. Lee Jr. was born in 1843 at Arlington Manor to Robert E. Lee and Ann Custis Lee. He attended some local schools in the 1850s while his father fought in Mexico and served as superintendent of West Point. Unlike his two older brothers, he did not think about a military career, did not serve in the US Army, and in 1860 he entered the University of Virginia.

Civil War

When the Civil War began, Robert was attending university. He decided to join the army, but it was decided that he would continue to study. It was only in the spring of 1862, after consulting with his father, that he enlisted in the army, becoming a private in the Rockbridge Artillery battery. At the end of March, the battery was sent to the Shenandoah Valley, where it joined Thomas Jackson's army at Camp Bukinan. He took part in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, after which Jackson's army was sent to Richmond. At this time, his father had just taken command of the Army of Northern Virginia.

During the Seven Days' Battle, the battery was only involved in the Battle of Malvern Hill, where it suffered relatively few casualties. The battery was then transferred with Jackson's corps to Northern Virginia, and took part in the second battle of Bull Run, as part of General Taliaferro's division. On September 17, the battery took part in the Battle of Antietam, where it occupied a position at Dankar-Chech and suffered significant losses in a firefight with federal artillery. The battery was taken to the rear, and on the way it met General Lee. Lee was covered in dirt and grime, so his father didn't recognize him right away. “... when he found out who I was, he congratulated me on being alive and well. I said, "General, are you going to send us into battle again?" "Yes, my son," he replied with a smile, "and you all must do everything you can to help stop these people."

Family

On November 16, 1871, Lee married Charlotte Taylor, who died childless on September 22, 1872. On March 8, 1894, he remarried in Washington to Juliet Carter. They had two daughters: Ann Carter (born June 21, 1897) and Mary Curtis (born December 23, 1900).

LEE ROBERT EDWARD

(b. 1807 – d. 1870)

General During the Civil War of 1861–1865. in the United States, the commander-in-chief of the army of the Confederate southern states. He won a number of victories, but was defeated at Gettysburg (1863), and in 1865 he capitulated to federal troops.

Robert Edward Lee was born January 19, 1807, in Stradford, Westmoreland County, Virginia. His father was Henry Lee, a hero of the Revolutionary War, and his mother was Ann Hill Lee (nee Carter).

Father and mother belonged to respectable old Virginia families, but due to circumstances (the father got entangled in unsuccessful financial transactions), Robert, the fourth child in the family, was raised mainly by his mother, who instilled in him religiosity, patience and discipline. The strong and healthy boy spent only the first four years of his life in Stratford, but in many ways it was they who determined the fate of the future general.

Sometimes it happens that one of the children inherits all the best from previous generations; this is exactly what happened to Robert E. Lee. From his mother he inherited his attractive appearance, from his father - physical strength, a sense of duty and responsibility, which George Washington himself noted in Henry Lee. Even his father’s financial problems played a positive role - all his life Robert Lee was extremely scrupulous and careful in all financial matters.

The boy's mother, Ann Carter Lee, raised her son to respect family values. Robert carried his touching love for her through the years.

The numerous wounds received by Robert's father in battles made themselves felt. On March 25, 1818 he died. At the age of less than 12, the boy actually became the owner of a large house, carefully caring for his mother and sisters, who were in poor health. The family lived in poverty.

Robert E. Lee's choice of a military career was driven by financial necessity. There was simply no money to study at Harvard, where his older brother Charles studied. There was only one way left - to the West Point Military Academy, where the young man entered in 1825. During his four years of study at the academy, Robert Lee did not receive a single penalty. He enjoyed the sympathy and respect of his fellow students and graduated from the academy second in academic performance in 1829. Robert's mother died that same year.

In those years, the best graduates were assigned to the engineering corps, this rule also applied to Robert E. Lee. His first steps in practical warfare were the construction of a dam at St. Louis, Missouri, and the fortification of coastal forts at Savannah, Georgia.

Promoted to lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, Lee married Mary Ann Custis of Arlington. The wedding took place on June 30, 1831 at Fort Monroe. Mary was the only daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, the adopted grandson of George Washington. Robert E. Lee revered Washington's memory and admired his services to the country; Lee's family ties to the father of the American Revolution provided another source of patriotic inspiration.

The young couple moved to Arlington, to the Custis estate along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. (now the famous Arlington Memorial Cemetery is located on the estate).

In 1846, the war with Mexico began, and Robert was sent there to supervise the construction of roads. However, General Winfield Scott, the commander of the American forces, noticed first of all not Lee’s engineering skills, but his extraordinary reconnaissance abilities, and brought him into his staff. It was in Mexico that Robert E. Lee became familiar with combat tactics, and these lessons were successfully used by him 16 years later.

The capable officer was entrusted with the task of drawing up and correcting maps, which, however, did not prevent him from one day leading soldiers into hand-to-hand combat. Here Lee met people who played a very important role in the approaching Civil War - James Longstreet, Thomas Jackson, George Pickett and Ulysses Grant.

Despite his sterling service and heroism and courage during the war, Lee's military career progressed extremely slowly. He received assignments to the most remote and wild places, painfully feeling disconnected from home and family. Robert has repeatedly emphasized that the main thing in his life is the love of his wife and children. In 1852–1855 he serves as superintendent at West Point.

In 1855, Lee, with the help of future Confederate President Jefferson Davis, was transferred to the cavalry with the rank of lieutenant colonel. The most high-profile military operation he led during this period was the suppression of the rebellion of radical abolitionist John Brown, who in October 1859 made a desperate attempt to seize the government arsenal in the town of Harper's Ferry, Virginia. We will not dwell now on the life and work of John Brown, the legendary fighter for the liberation of blacks. Let us only note that from the government’s point of view, the seizure of the military arsenal was nothing more than a terrorist act. Colonel Lee received orders to destroy the terrorists. Marines under Lee blocked the rebels, and then quickly broke the resistance of a small detachment led by Brown. Lee's adjutant in this operation was the young Lieutenant Jeb Stewart, who later became the best cavalryman in the South.

The military career of the middle-aged and not very successful Colonel Lee was steadily sliding towards sunset. In 1861, Robert E. Lee, who had given 32 years of his life to the US Army, had to retire...

However, events began to develop rapidly and completely unpredictably. In November 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected 16th President of the United States. This caused the state of South Carolina to secede from the union, followed by other southern states, including Virginia. The Confederacy, which united the southern states, began to urgently arm itself. On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office. In his inaugural address, he called for reconciliation, although it was already clear to everyone that war was inevitable. But no one knew how long and bloody it would be. Just before the start of the war, Lincoln invited Robert E. Lee to lead all the Northern ground forces. Lee was known as an exceptionally brave, honest and incorruptible officer. In addition, he was a supporter of the union system, did not approve of the secession of the southern states, considered slavery an evil and freed all his slaves. Lee wrote about the future of his country: “Neither north, nor south, nor east, nor west - only a broad Union in all its power and strength.”

Robert E. Lee was faced with a tragic choice between preserving the unity of the country and his love for his family, friends, history and his home state of Virginia. His heart was breaking, but after a sleepless night in Arlington the decision was finally made. Lee wrote his resignation. He could not fight against his friends, against everything that was dear to him, in fact against himself.

The response letter said: “Despite my opposition to secession and the impending war, I am unable to take part in the invasion of the southern states.” Robert E. Lee received his resignation and left his beloved Arlington to “return in sorrow to his people and share the fate of his native state.”

On April 12, 1861, hostilities began. The Confederacy, consisting of 11 southern states led by President-elect J. Davis, was opposed by 23 northern states supporting Abraham Lincoln. As an experienced military man, Lee could not help but understand that if the war dragged on, the South would be doomed. And yet he makes a difficult decision and offers his services to the Confederates. Explaining this choice to his son, he says: “I think the North is insulting the South by its actions. I feel aggression and want to do everything to prevent it. This is a principle which I do not advocate for any private or individual gain. As an American citizen, I pray for my country and its prosperity, but I am ready to defend any state whose rights are threatened."

J. Davis happily accepted Robert E. Lee's offer. During the first stage of the war, Brigadier General Lee was involved in organizing regular army units in his state, and in the summer of 1861 he led the Confederate troops in West Virginia. He was soon recalled to the capital of the Confederacy, the city of Richmond, where he accepted the post of chief military adviser to President Davis. In fact, this was the position of the Chief of the General Staff. While in this position, General Lee had a significant influence on the course of military operations, planning a number of successful military operations of the southerners.

The lack of experienced military leaders in the Confederate army forced Robert E. Lee to personally lead the Army of Northern Virginia. In 1862–1863 This army won several brilliant victories over the superior forces of the northerners. It is difficult to describe in a short essay all the battles of the Civil War in which General Lee took part, and this is probably not necessary. Suffice it to say that Lee became the soul of the Southern army; he was affectionately called “Uncle Robert.” The soldiers and officers believed him unconditionally, they believed that where he was, there was victory.

General Lee won his greatest victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, when the Union sent a huge army under the command of Joe Hooker against the Southerners. Lee and another military genius of the South, General Thomas Jackson, divided their forces, bypassed Hooker with a forced march and attacked his unprotected flank, inflicting the most significant defeat on the Northerners during the war. The southerners hoped to completely destroy the federal military forces, thus ending the war. The prospect was a victorious march on Washington and the delivery of a petition for recognition of the Confederate States of America to Lincoln. But History decreed otherwise. From July 1 to July 3, 1863, the greatest battle in the history of the Western Hemisphere took place near the unknown town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. General Lee was challenged by the federal Army of the Potomac with a new commander, George Meade. On the third day it became clear that the Confederates were being defeated, and even Lee's broad frontal attack did not change the final result. The Southerners were defeated. This battle was a turning point in the war.

Nevertheless, the Army of Northern Virginia fought for two more long years. Shocked by the defeat at Gettysburg, General Lee still continued to hold off the superior forces of the northerners. Meanwhile, he had a worthy opponent - General Ulysses Grant (his portrait is depicted on the fifty-dollar bill). By the way, an interesting fact can be cited. Ulysses Grant, commander in chief of the Northern army and future Republican President of the United States (1869–1877), also owned slaves. So, unlike General Lee, he did not free his slaves. Grant respected his opponent and gave him the name "Ace of Spades" as the highest recognition of military valor and talent. Ironically, 140 years later, President George W. Bush awarded the same “title” to Saddam Hussein, but that’s a completely different story.

Encircled, the army under the leadership of General Lee stubbornly resisted for ten months until it retreated to Appomattox. There, on April 9, 1865, the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia took place. War is over.

From the first of June 1862, upon taking command of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert Edward Lee was both the soul and the de facto leader of all the Confederate armed forces, which he formally led only in January 1865. His talent as a commander became a legend, his military campaigns is still studied in all military academies around the world as an example of tactical art. Lee was able to face an army three times the size of his own, poorly armed, naked and hungry. This became possible, first of all, thanks to the soldiers and civilians who felt themselves victims of aggression from the northerners and stood up to defend their freedom and independence, and at the same time, the merit of General Lee, his courage and talent as a military leader are undoubted.

After the surrender, Lee returned to Richmond as a forgiven prisoner of war. He dedicated the rest of his life to helping former Confederate soldiers. Robert Lee refused many tempting offers and accepted the modest post of president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University). The general's impeccable reputation, his vast military experience and fame both in the North and in the South made him a legendary figure during his lifetime. He died on October 12, 1870, as a result of a heart attack, never having been restored to civil rights.